


Mother's Day

by NikaylaSarae



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Mom!Janus, Mother's Day, Remus mention, Remus related antics mentioned, Virgil cameo, logan mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:26:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26736580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikaylaSarae/pseuds/NikaylaSarae
Summary: Janus has never liked Mother’s Day.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 93





	Mother's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted with minor edits from my Tumblr account @stillebesat.

_ Creeeeeaaaakkkkkkkk.  _

Janus’s eyes flashed open at the sound of his door opening, though experience had taught him long ago to keep up the pretense of sleeping. 

He drew in a slow breath, closing his eyes once more, grateful he had the covers pulled up over his head as he listened to the barely audible footsteps sneak closer to his bed. 

There was only one reason.  _ One day  _ in particular that  _ someone  _ would try to  _ sneak  _ into his room instead of just barging in like normal because knocking was an action that Remus couldn’t comprehend unless it involved knocking  _ out _ another person.

_ Mother’s  _ Day.

Janus hated this day.

It wasn’t like he was even a real Mom. Just because it felt like he spent most of his time keeping track of a bunch of hyperactive children didn’t prove a thing.

No. If anything Janus would have loved for it to be just another ordinary albeit noisy morning. Where nothing ‘special’ happened to him.

It wasn’t meant to be though. 

Not when one Duke of Creativity was involved.

It had started out innocently enough when they were younger. A large mud pie on his bed when he awoke. A crude kindergarten drawing on the night table. A full day of being called “Mommy”, “DeMom” or “Mother Dee.” 

It had been...cute...in a way. Considering Remus hadn’t been able to cook back then and hadn’t yet discovered just how  _ dark  _ his creativity could be instead of just plain  _ gross _ .

But as the years had passed….Remus had grown and with his growth...had come far more...well,  _ interesting,  _ was probably a better word to describe the ‘breakfast’ and ‘presents’ left for him to wake up to on Mother’s Day than  _ awful.  _

Janus worked to stay relaxed, breathing slowly and evenly as the footsteps paused near his side table so as to not give away the ‘game.’

It was all he had on this day. To pretend to sleep in longer. It was a feat accomplished pretty easily since the Others did their best to remain quiet on Mother’s Day and not wake him up at the crack of dawn with noises akin to feral cats fighting to the bloody death. 

That was a much easier present to accept. Because the Others didn’t think of him as a Mother. Just as their Gatekeeper.

Remus though? 

He’d loved the concept of DeMom far too much.

And...and...Janus grimaced, digging his fingers into the mattress. Virgil had too. 

Little Annie’s gifts had been the one bright spot to this awful day. His presents had always been small, easily hidden and easily overlooked when compared to Remus’s more...extravagant gifts. 

But Janus had loved them. Kept them. 

A small spider made of wire, a little stuffed snake made from yellow fabric, a flower crafted from the door handle Remus had broken the week before, and a scrap of paper with a little poem about Deceit’s hat that still made him smile after a hard day. 

Mother’s Day hadn’t been so hard with those little tokens to look forward to.

Until they stopped coming. 

But Janus wasn’t known as Deceit for nothing. He was good at hiding the hurt that first year. Good at pretending he didn’t notice that with Remus’s literal lava cakes and vivid recreation of the Scream painting...no little gift had appeared from Annie. 

The two of them had been more distant at that point in Jr. High. But Janus hadn’t realized just how much Virgil wanted nothing to do with him until he gave him nothing for Mother’s Day.

A fluke. 

He told himself. 

A one time thing.

Until it repeated the next year.

And the year after that.

And the year after that.

Where the only  _ presents  _ to appear had been from Remus. 

Annie had remained distant. Had gone to spend more time with the Light Sides.

And Deceit had pretended the entire time that he didn’t miss the little gifts. That he didn’t care that Virgil was treating him more and more like the enemy.

It had been hard.

To pretend.

Even more so that first Mother’s Day after Virgil’s acceptance by the Light Sides when he’d seen Logan walk by with a little metal star in his fingers.

It had hurt when he’d listened in later and heard them, heard  _ Virgil  _ referring to Logic as Mama Lo. 

No, Janus had never liked Mother’s Day. 

He hated it more than ever now. 

Now that he could feel the jealousy burning and writhing in his chest at the thought at the little presents Virgil would leave for Logan today instead of for him.

After all,  _ Mama Lo _ would never wake up to an army of fire ants invading his bed, to piles of slime dripping into his hair, to multiple bright yellow flaming knives hanging point down over his head on Mother’s Day.

Janus forced himself to draw another slow steady breath, to relax his fingers. He knew Remus was just...being himself.

But Janus wished his gifts were a bit more...well like Annie’s. 

And that wasn’t fair to Remus. Not when Janus could see that the Duke meant well. That these were gifts that he’d thought out and tried to create just for him. That Remus wanted him to feel...special.

Janus grimaced, opening his eyes, glaring at the weave in his sheets, steeling himself as he heard the soft  _ thud  _ of something being placed on his nightstand that he would soon have to ‘find’ and ‘like’ because there was no way he would not compliment and admire Remus’s gift when The Duke rarely received praises from anyone else for his...ideas. 

Though now that Thomas was aware of his Darker Creativity and accepted him enough to allow the Duke access to the Light Sides...he had wondered...if Remus would give him anything this year or if he’d pull a--a Virgil and jumped on the  _ Mama Lo  _ train and give Logic his ‘special present’ today instead.

That would be a laugh and a half to see Logan’s reaction to Remus’s particular brand of gifts. 

Or would the bitter twisting feeling in his stomach only increase knowing that the Duke would be so quick to change who his ‘mother’ figure was too? 

No. There was  _ someone _ in the room with him. Remus had still chosen him over Logic this year unlike--

A warm weight settled by his knees. “I know you’re awake, DeMom” An achingly familiar voice quietly said.

Janus froze, heart leaping in his chest, not quite daring to believe he was hearing who he thought he was hearing as he peered out from under his covers to the shadowy figure sitting on his bed.

_ Virgil. _


End file.
